


To Be by Her Side

by fayfi13



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Love Live Big Bang 2016, this is rushed i am sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:32:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8436868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fayfi13/pseuds/fayfi13
Summary: hanayo has a real big crush on a certain upperclassman and is oblivious to nico's returning advances. they smooch at the end. enjoy





	

**Author's Note:**

> so i made this for the love live big bang, however i am terrible with time management and am a college student sO NATURALLY I DID NOT FINISH ON TIME AND HAD TO RUSH THIS. you can tell where i fucked up real bad and didn't quite finish. maybe i'll go back and edit it later. i apologize. it's also supposed to be 5k words. i failed that part too. but this is still the longest fic i have ever written in my life. except maybe my warriors oc fic from when i was 11. i am getting off topic now.
> 
> my artist partner is @lumpelstiltskin on tumblr, but her art blog is @creepysteeples! i felt very honored to work with her, her art is absolutely lovely anD I WISH I COULD HAVE DONE HER MORE JUSTICE THAN THIS
> 
> that said i hope you enjoy reading this

It was hard for Hanayo to pinpoint the exact moment she had realized that she was in love with Nico. Was it the countless nights they had spent alone, pressed closely while excitedly watching idol performances? Was it the way Nico always returned her enthusiasm, and cheered her on when she was nervous before performances? Was it how Nico always called her cute, and how sometimes it felt like she reserved a soft spot just for her? Hanayo really hoped that last one wasn’t just her reading too much into things, but then again, she did seem to have a talent for overthinking.

“Hanayo? Are you listening?”

Hanayo shot her head up from its spot leaning on her hand and staring blankly at the wall. “Ye-yes?!”

Nico sighed before tapping her on the head. “I was just talking about how we should work on our charms more, you know? Though I guess you don’t really need it… But everyone else could afford to! Especially Maki and Eli…”

“Oh! Haha, yeah!” Hanayo nodded enthusiastically, overcompensating for her earlier spaciness.

Nico squinted at her suspiciously. “Are you alright, Hanayo? You’ve been looking dazed the past few days. If something is bothering you, I’m always here to listen.”

Hanayo shook her head quickly, instinctively bowing her head slightly. “No, it’s nothing! Just thinking about how cute this group’s outfits are!”

The diversion worked, as Nico immediately turned back to the television. “Hmm… they are very cute, but it’s nothing compared to µ's! Kotori could make those outfits look like potato sacks!”

Hanayo couldn’t help laughing, “I don’t know about potato sacks, Nico…”

Nico turned to her. “There we go! See? You’re much prettier with a Nico Nico Smile.”

Hanayo looked down, her cheeks flushed and her heart burning with affection that she couldn’t voice. Nico always said those kinds of things without even seeming embarrassed. Hanayo wished she could just say those kinds of things to Nico without a second thought, but she felt like she might die of shame before she got the first word out.

“Oh, it’s getting late… I should probably head home. We have practice tomorrow morning, after all.” Nico yawned and stretched her arms over her head. “Thanks for spending time with me, Hanayo.”

“A-Anytime!” Hanayo squeaked out, her voice cracking a bit. She cringed as soon as she heard it happen. _Great. Nice. I’m so embarrassed I could die._

Nico laughed, mussing up Hanayo’s hair. “Cute as always. I’ll see you tomorrow morning!” She offered one last wave and smile before leaving Hanayo’s room.

Hanayo smiled and waved until Nico had fully disappeared, then flopped onto her back. What was she supposed to do? Maybe if she waited long enough, the feelings would go away? It was hard to ignore how she felt when she wanted to reach out and hold her hand whenever she was nearby. But there was no way it would ever work out. Nico was graduating this year, and she was just a first-year. Besides, there was no way Nico would ever like someone like her. And she always talked about how she could never have a lover, because it would be interfering with her duties as an idol…

“What do I dooooooooooo?!” Hanayo cried into her pillow, completely at a loss. She couldn’t confess, but she couldn’t get over her like this. She’d never been in love before, and she was unsure how to react. Maybe she could talk to Rin about it…?

Rin was her best friend. They’d been through a lot together, and Hanayo knew if there was anyone she could talk to, it was her. As Hanayo dialed the number reflexively, she felt anxiety flooding over her. What if Rin pressed her about who it was? Would Rin think of her differently if she knew she was in love with a girl, much less an upperclassman? All the questions that flooded her mind were silenced as Rin’s voice filled the speaker.

“Kayo-chin? What’s up? I was about to go to bed.” Rin yawned sleepily, and Hanayo felt guilty for calling so late.

“I’m sorry! It’s really nothing too serious, it’s just… I was wondering, if you liked someone a lot and were too afraid to say anything about it, what do you think you would do?”

Rin’s voice immediately increased in volume, nearly to the point of hurting Hanayo’s ears. “KAYO-CHIN! DO YOU LIKE SOMEBODY?”

“Eep! Rin! Please, not so loud…”

Rin’s cheerful, embarrassed laugh was heard. “Ah, sorry! I got a little too excited! But Kayo, you do like someone, don’t you? You can tell me! I’ll support you no matter what!”

Hanayo hesitated. If anyone would accept and understand her, it would certainly be Rin. “Rin… What if it’s not a boy?”

“Huh?! Erm, well… it’s still a crush, right? What does it matter if it’s a girl?”

Hanayo sighed inwardly, relief flooding over her. “Okay, but… it’s someone in µ's.”

Rin was silent for a moment before speaking. “It’s Nico, right?”

Hanayo could’ve died then and there. “What?! How could you know?!”

Rin sounded proud. “Well, I thought about how you act around all the members, and… you’re not exactly subtle, Kayo-chin. You get even more nervous than usual when you’re in front of her!”

Hanayo felt like she was burning, embarrassment running through every part of her like shockwaves. “Ye-yes. It’s… it’s Nico.”

“Well, what do you like about her, Kayo?” Rin sounded thoughtful, but not at all judgemental.

Hanayo was silent while she gathered her thoughts, but then it all spilled out of her in one breath. “Nico always says she’s the perfect idol, but honestly, I think she is! She’s so cute and confident, she’s always sweet and kind, her black hair is so sleek and lovely…”

Rin laughed. “Enough, enough! I understand! Gosh, you always get so excited when you talk about something you like…Well, I’m here to help, Kayo-chin! Don’t you worry, even if you’re not confident enough to make a move, I’ll be the perfect wing-girl!” Hanayo could clearly envision Rin’s smug grin.

“Eep! Rin! Please, don’t do anything… I just wanted to get it off my chest.” Hanayo felt her chest tighten in terror. _I really hope I didn’t just make a huge mistake…_

“I won’t do anything bad, I promise. I just want you to be happy!” Rin’s kind voice was quieter, and Hanayo could tell she was getting tired.

“Thank you for listening, Rin. Get some rest.” Hanayo didn’t want to keep her friend on the phone any longer, especially since she was already exhausted.

“If you’re sure, Kayo-chin. Good night! Make sure you don’t stay up all night thinking about Nico!”

“I- hey!” Hanayo cried, but Rin had laughed and hung up.

Hanayo stared at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought. But before long, her eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted into a deep sleep.

 

The next day, Hanayo stifled a yawn, stretching her arms over her head in the cool air of the rooftop. Umi was running practice harsher than usual today, because Honoka had slept in and lost them some time. “Everyone, pair up! We’re stretching first!” Umi’s authoritative voice left no room for argument.

Hanayo turned to Rin, since they always stretched together. But to her surprise, Rin had grabbed Maki by the arm. “Maki! Let’s stretch together!” Maki looked confused, but sighed and agreed without putting up much of a fight. Rin flashed Hanayo a devious grin. Maki usually paired with Nico. If Rin had taken her… that meant… _Rin, you traitor!_

“Guess we’re together.” Nico had approached her without her noticing. Hanayo let out a high pitched yelp of surprise.

“Kya! Nico!” Hanayo stepped backwards, nearly tripping over herself. Nico leaned forward and grabbed her hands to balance her.

“Geez, Hanayo, be careful! I don’t want you getting hurt.” Nico made sure she was unharmed before letting go. Hanayo could feel her face burning. It felt like her face was going to become a permanent shade of red at this rate.

Nico turned around and offered her arms so that Hanayo could do the back stretch. Leaning on her, Nico spoke again. “Hanayo, you’re sure nothing’s wrong?”

“No, I’m okay! I’m sorry to worry you.” Hanayo sighed inwardly. She really had to get it together, she was bothering Nico with this.

Nico hummed, and Hanayo could tell that she wasn’t quite believing her, but was letting it go. “It’s nice that I get to stretch with you today. A good change of pace.”

“I think so too!” They were back to back so Nico couldn’t see, but a happy smile had appeared on Hanayo’s face. _It’s nice just being close to her like this…_

“Okay, now we switch!” Nico stood back up and got ready to lean the other way.

“Wait, Nico… what if I’m too heavy? I don’t wanna hurt you…” Hanayo suddenly felt extremely anxious. Nico had such a petite frame… Could she really lift her?

“Hanayo! I’m stronger than I look, you know!” Nico seemed to shrug off her worries effortlessly. Hesitantly, Hanayo leaned on her, but Nico seemed perfectly fine. “You’re light as a feather, Hanayo. Don’t second guess yourself all the time!”

“If… if you’re sure, Nico.” Hanayo felt relieved and happy that Nico had reassured her the way she did. They finished stretching together, peaceful and relaxed in each other’s company. After fifteen minutes, Umi brought them all back to the middle of the rooftop.

“Okay, next we’re splitting up into subunits for vocal warmups.” Umi gestured Nozomi and Rin towards where she was standing. Eli and Maki began walking towards the fence, to give them some space. Nico seemed hesitant to leave Hanayo’s side, still with her when the other members had already split off.

“Why do we have to break into subunits for vocal warmups? We could just all do them together… I’m just saying, it seems pointless.” Nico mumbled, finally leaving her spot next to Hanayo to start walking over to join Eli and Maki.

“Aw, Nico-cchi is grumpy she can’t be with her cute kouhai~” Nozomi laughed, coming around to throw her arms around Nico.

“E-excuse me! Can you blame me?! Nobody else understands the true beauty of idols…!” Nico blushed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Eli laughed. “We’re only doing subunit training for a little while. You can rejoin Hanayo soon.”

Honoka and Kotori leaned in towards Hanayo. “Yeah, stop looking so disappointed! You’re making me feel bad for not being Nico.” Honoka whined, shaking Hanayo’s shoulders.

“Aah! No, it’s not like that! I love you guys!” Hanayo shook her head quickly, embarrassed at the sudden attention.

“Honoka’s just teasing, Hanayo. Don’t mind it.” Kotori giggled, pulling Honoka back.

They began vocal warmups, but every inch of Hanayo’s body felt keenly aware of the distance between her and Nico. She couldn’t keep herself from glancing at Nico for the rest of practice. _I really don’t know if I can go on like this…_

 

After class, Hanayo reached a hand out under the open sky. Raindrops had begun dropping heavily, making large dark spots near her shoes on the ground. Of course she’d forgotten her umbrella while fantasizing about seeing Nico this morning. Hanayo silently cursed herself and prepared to run home when a familiar voice stopped her. “Forgot your umbrella?”

“Nico…! Yeah, I did…” She admitted sheepishly.

“You can share mine. Do you want to just come over to my place until the rain stops? I wanted to talk to you about the other idols competing in Love Live, and show you this amazing new group I found.”

“Um, yeah, I’d really love that!” Hanayo’s heart felt warm. Nico leaned her umbrella towards her, making sure it covered both of them entirely. As they stepped out into the cold, Nico interlocked their arms. Hanayo stiffened, surprised and nervous.

“Sorry, does it bother you?” Nico asked, uncertainty laced in her voice.

“No! No no it doesn’t bother me at all!” Hanayo blurted out louder than she meant to.

Nico smiled, leaning in to Hanayo. “Okay, good.” She put her head on Hanayo’s shoulder. Hanayo felt like her heart might stop. _No sudden movements, Hanayo, stay calm, don’t do anything that would make her want to move, don’t stiffen up, don’t hyperventilate, do you think she can hear your heart pounding?!_

“You know, Hanayo, you’re really cute.” Nico commented quietly.

Hanayo felt like she’d just been shot in the heart by cupid himself. “Ah, um! Thank you!”

They walked for a while in silence, Hanayo petrified that she might say or do something that would make Nico move. After some time, Nico came to a sudden stop. _Oh no. Did I move weird? Breathe weird?_

“Sorry, did I do something? I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable!” Hanayo immediately began apologizing.

“What? Hanayo, you’re fine! This is where I live!” Nico stifled a giggle.

“O-Oh.” Hanayo mumbled.

Nico took her hand. “Come on in! I bet you’re excited to see where super idol Nico Yazawa lives!”

When Hanayo went inside, she was greeted by Nico’s little siblings, who complimented her and asked her a lot of questions. Nico tried to hush them, pushing them into another room, but not before Cocoa could yell, “Nico never stops talking about you!”

“Hey, Cocoa! Shush!” Nico closed the door. “Sorry about them, they’re a bit loud.”

“They’re so cute! It was nice meeting a few members of your family.” Hanayo beamed.

Nico sighed. “At the very least, I’m glad you think so.”

 

They had been watching idol DVDs for a few hours, Nico providing commentary and Hanayo laughing and responding. But now, Hanayo felt the heavy effects of sleep crashing over her. “I should probably be getting home soon…”

“Are you tired? You can sleep, Hanayo.” Nico leaned into her, as Hanayo yawned for the fifth time.

“I don’t wanna overstay my welcome!” Hanayo rubbed her eyes.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. The only people here are my little siblings, and they don’t mind.” Nico laughed as Hanayo yawned again.

“Nico… thank you.” Hanayo closed her eyes and leaned into her shoulder, drifting to sleep while Nico stroked her hair gently.

 

Hanayo woke up the next morning and looked around, before remembering where she was. Right! She’d stayed the night with Nico… But now she was alone. She got up and put on her glasses, searching for the older girl. “Nico?”

When she exited the room, she immediately saw her. Nico was standing in the kitchen, making breakfast. Looking at her peacefully making eggs, Hanayo felt like she was a pipe and her feelings were gallons and gallons of rushing water, and she was ready to break. She couldn’t stop staring at Nico.

“Hanayo, do you want milk?” Hanayo didn’t reply, completely fixated on Nico and how beautiful she was and how much she loved her.

“Hanayo?” Nico turned around, and Hanayo felt tears rise to her eyes. She couldn’t keep it from her anymore. She was going to explode otherwise. Nico looked at her with concern, running over. “Hanayo?! Are you okay?”

It all began spilling out of her.

“I really like you Nico, like, like like you, I want to kiss you and hold your hand and I know you’ll never think of me that way, but I can’t keep it from you any more and I’m sorry and I hope this doesn’t ruin our friendship because you really mean a lot to me and-”

She was interrupted by Nico’s lips pressed against hers, gently, then with more feeling. After a moment that felt a hundred times too short, she pulled their lips apart, pressing her forehead against Hanayo’s.

“Hanayo… what have I told you about making assumptions…?” Nico sighed overdramatically in her usual way.

“Um- but- Nico... “ Hanayo’s head was swirling, her thoughts incoherently tangled.

“Of course I like you too. Super idol Nico Yazawa… Yes, it’s true. I have fallen for a fellow idol. Scandalous! But… if it’s you, it’s worth it.” Nico pushed Hanayo’s hair out of her face.

“Nico… thank you…” Hanayo felt tears welling up in her eyes.

“Hey! Don’t cry!” Nico looked momentarily panicked, using her sweater sleeves to wipe one of Hanayo’s stray tears.

 

“WHAT? Nico and Hanayo?!”

Umi smacked Honoka on the head. “Yes, Nico and Hanayo! Are you that dense that you didn’t even notice?!”

“I… had no idea!” Honoka admitted.

Umi and Kotori looked exasperated. Nico became defensive immediately. “What?! Is there a problem with the world’s cutest idol having an equally cute girlfriend?!”

“No, no! That’s not what I meant!” Honoka looked terrified, and Hanayo couldn’t help but giggle. Rin slung her arm around Hanayo’s shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you, Kayo-chin? World’s best wing-girl.”

Nico spun around. “Rin, you didn’t even do anything!”

“Excuse me! I paired with Maki that one morning so that you two could be together!”

Maki turned to her. “I thought you paired with me because you wanted to stretch with me!”

As everyone began talking at once, Nico squeezed Hanayo’s hand. Hanayo couldn’t stop the smile that bloomed on her face. Being by Nico’s side… it was everything she could have wanted.


End file.
